>> greg: thank you, everybody for joining us. he is going to keep talking. all the way. until tomorrow. >> kimberly: see you tomorrow. ♪ captioned by closed captioning services, inc >> shannon: ron paul tries to build on his momentum ahead of the iowa caucuses. this is "special report." ♪ ♪ >> shannon: good evening. i'm shannon bream in for bret baier. we're less than a week away from the first voting of the 2012 presidential campaign. we have fox team coverage from iowa tonight. steve brown tells white house is actually going to take part in the caucuses. we begin with chief political correspondent carl cameron following texas congressman ron paul today. good evening, carl. >> reporter: hi, shannon. front-runners have come and gone in the race. for months we said in the end it would come down to photo finish at the wire. now the polls suggest about 30 to 40% of iowa caucus goers

are undecided and now comes the final sprint to find those who may still change their minds. iowa speedway, ron paul marveled as all the attention he got as front runner heading to the finish line in the presidential caucus. >> i am pleased to be here. this does look like there are more cameras than there used to be. >> reporter: the volatility of the iowa battle between paul and mitt romney is net today's poll. democratic leaning public policy poll has paul leading by 4%. cnn survey says romney leads. paul is second. rick santorum moved to third ahead of newt gingrich. santorum trashed ron paul for downplaying the threat of a nuclear iran. paul cast himself as incorruptible and slams his rivals in a new ad for the final iowa sprint. >> politicians who support bail-out, are serial hypocrites and flip-floppers. >> in the poll for the fourth week, gingrich claim he is doesn't attach rivals but dissed paul self-style

conservatism outside the g.o.p. mainstream and romney is as moderate for healthcare mandates, on which they once agreed. >> we both used to have the wrong idea. i'm saying it's a wrong idea. he is not. funny they attack me for admitting i was wrong. >> i knew he supported the plan in the past. i believe he supported it until he got in the race this year. he has made a number of mistakes recently in the presidential campaign. happy to stand by things i believe. >> reporter: romney who has the most discipline of the campaign joined the chorus of criticism aimed at paul for downplaying the iranian threat. >> we have differing views. one of the people running for president thinks it's okay for iran to have a nuclear weapon. i don't. >> reporter: they are all vying for the traditionage top three tickets out of iowa, rick perry, michele bachmann and rick santorum are struggling to defy conventional wisdom and survive with fourth place sho showing. with every day, some cases

every hour, the tension mounts as we get closer to the caucuses. as they wait for surprise moment of unforeseen to scramable race in the last day or. so for rick santorum now, it would be a tense few days. coming in fourth in the latest poll means all eyes will turn to him as a dark horse surge at the last moment. waiting for it all year complaining about the lack of attention. five brutal days of scrutiny with the 11-point surge in two weeks of the poll. >> shannon: thank you, carl. from candidates to the people doing the voting. correspondent steve brown looks at who participates in the iowa caucuses. >> community education. this is shanna. >> i have been following the election closer than any other election. >> reporter: but with less than a week to caucuses though we checked in throughout the year, shanna is not sure she will go next tuesday night. >> i'm not sure a lot of

iowanss understand the process. it's a little intimidating to people. >> she isn't alone there. >> the process is -- it takes a while to do it. it's hours. >> typically, precinct caucus is 60 to 90 minutes long. most of the agenda is dry, organizational stuff with preferential preference thrown in every four years. >> bring an ipad. when you hear something interesting, pay attention. >> who is the typical caucus-goer? >> your everyday iowans. usually middle age, senior citizens, married. church-going. social economic conservative. >> newcomers are rare. >> although, long time caucus observers believe ron paul will add younger faces caucus night from his college age supporters. still, a lot of reliable republican voters in iowa will tell you. >> i have never gone to the caucus. >> the actual caucus goers are

a powerful minority of iowans. the state roughly 2 million voters are 65% of the population. registered republicans, 20%. if 120,000 show up to the republican caucuses, which would be a record. it would mean just 4% of all iowans will decide who wins. is that enough? >> when you look at how seriously the people take that decision, it is. we see that with how slow iowanss have been to coalesce around candidacy. they take the responsibility seriously. >> the president and deserves a couple of hours at least. at least. i will definitely be there on the third. >> security at the almost 1800 caucus locations is a conservative -- especially after today's arrest of ten occupy protesters at alum rock des moines area headquarters. so party officials for the republican party of iowa decide to take their tabulations away from party headquarters to undisclosed location for security reasons. shannon? >> shannon: steve brown live for us tonight.

thank you, steve. in 2008, senator barack obama iowa victory over john edwards and hillary clinton energized his presidential campaign. this time he is running unopposed and spending time in hawaii, not iowa. we report that the president still has politics on his mind. >> president obama spending time with the family in hawaii. he may be having fun but he has been on vacation. imagine how many issues swirling around in his mind? how many existing or potential flash points there are heading to 2012. here is what could be the five most important. one, this is a no-brainer. the economy. the country ends the year with signs of a resurgence in consumer spending. that is good news. but if this chart that the white house is watching closely. the unemployment rate. it's trending down to 8.6%. but that is still uncomfortably high. if many americans given up looking for work, flood back in the job market next year,

that rate could go up. overseas there is still concern about a european mel meltdown. two global hot spots. the list is long. growing violence and growing uncertainty. attacks in iraq with the u.s. combat forces there gone and continuing war in afghanistan, it is a full plate for the white house. three, growing scandals under control. there could be more fall-out from solyndra. now defunked solar energy company. fast and furious. the firearm tracking program that sent guns to mexico. congress is still investigating. four, finding a way to work with republicans in congress. the president came to hawaii after winning a standoff with house republicans over the payroll tax holiday extension. house speaker john boehner will regroup.

by february, the house cut extension will have expired. one of the looming battles ahead. five, winning re-election. this could make the other four look easy. the president has been able to watch from the sidelines has the republicans hammer one another. his schedule will be packed with fundraisers and rallies. in 2012, he will be the targe target. tieing in to that something that the president will be waiting for next year, supreme court decision on what he considers to be his signature achievement, the healthcare law. >> shannon: doug luzader live with the president in hawaii. thank you. desperate way to get your way at the hospital. that is later in the grapevine. up next, the rocky road to peace in syria. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up!

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>> shannon: in world headlines the trial of former egyptian president hosni mubarak resumed in cairo. the 83-year-old mubarak was taken to courthouse in ambulance. he is charged with complicity in killing 800 protesters earlier in year and could face the death penalty if convicted. a brawl erupted at churches of nativity at the west bank. happened as orthodox monks were cleaning the facility. palestinian police broke it up. similar fights have taken place at the church in the past. iranian exiles in iraq accepted a deal to move 400 residents to camp liberty by the end of the year.

state department spokesman says no decision has been made rather to remove the group on the list of the terrorist organization. they fired a block at exile today. no casualties were reported. the state department is urging syria to provide access to arab league monitors. leland vittert reports on the effort to end the government crackdown on dissent. >> gunfire and arrest tillly barrages -- artillery barrages to take cover on the second full day honoring the syrian government crackdown in the embattled country. they reported four people killed by the government troops and rebel army posted video of ambush on syrian military. government said six soldiers were killed and 12 injured in attacks today. monitors themselves are unarmed and cowardless to stop the violence. residents report and video show protesters have been galvanized by the presence. tens of thousands of people took to streets to demand the end of bashar assad's rule.

in a slight change, use of automatic weapons, the government security forces, set up with the tier gas. the observers are severely restricted. government monitors monitor their every move. this intimidates many syrians. however, others are unafraid. the people want to execute. in homes where the uprising is strongest, syrian tanks left early tuesday morning. and a week's long siege of the city, the building showed damage from the artillery shells. in the street, blood stains mark brutality of government forces. "this is the blood of my son" says a syrian man walking the streets with newly arrived observers. video posted on line by the opposition group urgent news shows residents taking visito visitors to a mosque, morgue for victim of the uprising. "come and see. we have the body of a 4 or 5-year-old boy."

today, the government claimed it released 400 prisoners rounded up in protest. but they continue to arrest anyone speaking out. yesterday, six young men -- [ inaudible ] according to a report on arab tv station, intelligence officers and police are dressing up as monitors and hitting the street. only to arrest those that speak out against the regime. showing more distrust from the country where the army was already unleashed on its own citizens. in jerusalem, leland vittert, fox news. >> shannon: one north korean soldier said the people were crying tears of blood today at the funeral of their former leader. senior foreign affairs greg palkot looks at the ceremony and how the new head man fit in. >> in a stallennist sendoff, kim jong il was given a state funeral today. tens of thousands of north koreans packed snow snowy

pyongyang. they watched a 25-mile loop through the city. mourners seemed to be overcome with grief, including the troops who spoke right on cue. "as i see the snowfall, i shed more tears thinking about our general's hard work." the general's son and successor kim jong unis front and center at proceedings. at times bowing his head. at times saluting. today seemed to be as much about him as his deceased dad. as the transfer of power continues. >> you are seeing the son right there. >> the army chief. >> so the kim jong il biographer said it's about the people, including his uncle and army brass. behind the 20-something leader. >> he is not leading the country. he will eventually. once the old men, his father's men around him. >> foreigners were not in

attendance today. but some were watching closely in next door south korea. the main train station, funeral of kim jong il playing out on several tv screens. most people are busy getting from one place to another. some are stopping to watch proceedings and think about what is happening. "kim jong" is so inexperienced it could be a big problem." this man says south korea has to change its approach to the north. or there will be problems in the future. worrying more, after share of clashes with the north was the big military presence today. the emphasis that jong placed on defense and warning there could be more combat ahead. south korea says it's not over. another memorial to the late dictator is planned for tomorrow. in seoul, south korea, greg palkot, fox news. >> shannon: the u.s. is warning iran that any disruption of the middle east oil exports will not be

tolerated. this comes after the islamic republican threatened to close the vital strait of hormuz. national security correspondent jennifer griffin has that story from the pentagon. good evening. >> reporter: good evening. first, iran's vice president. today, head of iran navy for the second day in a row. iran threatened to close the strait of hormuz. which is just 34 miles wide. pronouncement coming while iran navy conducting ten days of naval exercises near the vital waterway through which 20% of the world oil passes every day. the drill will include maneuvers to practice closure of the strait, according to an article published in iran translated by middle east media research institute. how to close the strait of hormuz. author details which iranian submarines can lay underwater mines and how the iranian knaveshy will use antiship missiles and fleet of fast attack crafts. the sea craft are capable of

blocking the strait for brief or extended period. facing enemy warship trying to open the root. the u.s. aircraft carrier pass through the narrow strait of hormuz en route to support war in afghanistan. spokesman in bay rain warned not to close the state. anyone that threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation is outside the community of nation. any disruption will not be tolerated. saudi arabia has said it will place additional 2 million-barrels of oil online if the iranian oil supplies are disrupted. tehran saber rattling which the sate department called blueser is in response to u.s. plans to sanction iran central banks making it difficult to sell 4 million-barrels of oil a day. >> i think in part, they are trying to increase the perception in europe and some circles of the white house here there would be a military

confrontation to try to reduce both the threat of sanctions and the risk of military action against their nuclear weapons program. >> a u.s. navy spokesman said the drill that the iranian navy is carrying out has been routine and professional but the rhetoric in recent days has gotten more heated. >> shannon: jennifer griffin live at pentagon. thank you. >> the assurance by saudi arabia to keep oil flowing led to drop in prices. gasoline gained a penny overnight. national average is $3.24 a gallon. stocks were off today. dow dropped 140. the s&p 500 lost 16. nasdaq finished 35 behind. still ahead, should you have to show photo i.d. to vote? first, there may be a new game in town thanks to the obama administration. a lot of patients are using toothpaste to clean their dentures.

you really want to be careful, you can't use something as abrasive as a toothpaste because it will cause scratches. as a result of those scratches, bacteria will get lodged in that denture

and as they multiply in the mouth the odor can get stronger. i always advise my patients to use polident. it has specific agents in it that can kill bacteria. using polident daily, you definitely will not be creating the scratches. you're going to have a fresh bright smile, and you're going to feel confident.

>> shannon: advocacy group for police officers said the number one law enforcement personnel killed in the line of duty jumped 13% this year. the 2011 total stands at 173 officers. 153 died the year before. the group is blaming budget cuts to public safety departments. the commander of the guantanamo bay prison is finding order requiring the communication between september 11 suspects and their lawyer be reviewed. the lawyers say it violates attorney-client privilege. official said they considered those concerns and made modification. drawing to inside straight still may not be advisable but it may be legal from your home computer. senior white house foreign affairs correspondent wendell goler tells us a new way to look at an old law. >> the justice decided the law it uses to ban online poker site should only apply to

online and spending on sporting event, horse racing. other laws to regulate the online gambling, some critics fear the decision opens a door they will have trouble closing. >> creative interpretation at the department of justice will allow online gambling to every home. i don't think that is where we should be going as a country. >> the decision was prompted by illinois attempt to sell lottery tickets online. now nevada is one of several states considering online gambling. like power ball and other multistate lottery games they say the online gammalling site will get around the state regulation. they say the offshore gambling site already do. >> we are advocating to bring the industry on shore and make it safe and secure for consumer and bring in the tax revenue. >> globally, the online gambling with a $20 billion a year industry. with budgets forcing layoff of public sector workers the potential for new revenue is appealing. author and former gambling

addict says it's a siren song. >> i do believe that the cost unitly outweigh the benefit. comes in community, and this can be gauged in a number of ways. >> skolnik predicts increase social cost and higher gambling addiction rate from online gambling. he said electronic gambling is more addictive than table play. online gambling is more addicting for couple of reasons. >> you can play any night or day. it's accessible. other thing with higher addiction rates is the speed of play. >> he admits most people who gamble don't become addicted and he concedes the entertainment value. but predicts online gambling would create 8-9 million new addicts. in washington, wendell goler, fox news. >> shannon: same bet that plenty of people will leave california in 2012. correspondent anita vogel reports the state known as trend setter in fashion and fad has a different kind of

trend. >> reporter: from beautiful beaches to the tem temperate climate. i used to be the state to move to. but california dreaming is just that. >> california attractiveness as destination waned partly because it's so attractive it's expensive to live here. people can't afford to live here. >> with high housing cost and taxes about unemployment rate of more than 11%, the golden state is tarnished. the number of people moving in from out of state is at 100-year low. jennifer and dan are among 130,000 who packed up and headed out in 2010. >> we kind of looked in staying as california. the prospects weren't good. while there, going backward economically. >> the couple relocated to texas where they can afford a house, new business and what they call a better way of

life. >> everything here really is bigger in texas. driving up to the house and everything was all big. double the size of what it was in california. >> economically and politically california is in a world of hurt. it will be in a world of hurt for generations. >> some analysts agree that the out migration isn't just a trend. >> the demographic changes chans that are california are long-term phenomena. >> with governor jerry brown proposing drastic cut in education and social services to fix the state $10 billion budget deficit, fewer people may say california, here we come. >> people may afford housing and live the american dream. >> with texas, i.r.s. statistics show california leave for states like arizona, washington, oregon. all places with a lower cost of living and often more job opportunities. in los angeles, anita vogel, fox news. >> shannon: last-minute

shoppers gave her chant a solid list the final week before christmas. mall trade group reports 4.5% increase in revenue over last year. 2012 vacation ideas for those fascinated with death. that is next. and you may be amaze who had is pointing fingers at the u.s. over human rights.

>> shannon: now fresh pickings from the political grapevine. russia foreign ministry is criticizing the u.s. for its

human rights record. an attack president obama for "legalizing extra judicial custody and return of court-martial." it laments what it calls the notorious prison at guantanamo bay. history students may recall russian leader stallin is blamed for 60 million deaths. state department says it may examine the russian report. administrative law judge in arizona says the ethics public study at the tucson school is illegal because it promotessagevism against white people. the judge backed up earlier findings about the mexican-american curriculum. the judge wrote it was written in biased politically and emotionally charged manner. if disasters are your thing, 2012 could be fun year to travel. mexico says it expects 52 million tourists in the southeast part of the country occupied by the mayan civilization. the end of the mayan calendar

cycle led many people to expect the end of the world. next december 21. titanic enthusists with $59,000 are booking cruises to retrace the route of the doomed ship. the voyage will include a memorial at the site of the collision with the iceberg, exactly 100 years to the minute from when it actually happened. monday night, montana man upset that a hospital refused to give him painkillers for back, went to his car, got out his gun and shot himself in the ankle. the hospital spokeswoman said the man was treated and stabilize. prosecutors, in miles city are now considering charges. our top story at the bottom of the hour. iowa caucuses are less than a week away and that kicks off voting in the 2012 campaign. primary in new hampshire and south carolina. tonight, chief correspondent jim angle reports that state is one of several dealing with dispute over who gets to vote.

>> there is a simple question dividing the two parties in the election. should voters have to show a picture i.d. to cast a ballot? >> this is an effort to diminish minority and poor people involve in the the electoral politic. >> they need to get welfare and get on an airplane. take the s.a.t., buy liquor and buy cigarettes. >> the latest controversy over south carolina i.d. law which the justice department blocked on september 23 claiming it will hurt minorities and the poor. eric holder averted people to ao pose the effort days before. >> call on the political party to resist temptation to obtain vote for electoral success. >> stricter law in indiana was upheld year ago by a supreme court on 6-3 vote. so now 15 states have or plan photo i.d.s. >> the u.s. supreme court upheld the law. opinion written by justice

john paul stevens. >> a number of democratic congressmen as well as jimmy carter argue in favor of photo i.d.s. nevertheless, others article it's too onerous. >> typically, you have to have a birth certificate to get state i.d. many don't have ability to pay $35 here. >> similar law in georgia took pain to avoid problems. >> we will send photographer to home of anybody that can say they can't get somewhere and get a picture made and photo i.d. >> south carolina law allows people without photo i.d. to vote if they sign aft. >> they refer to this as g.o.p. tactics and says, "photo i.d. mandate are the most per vase i new restriction on right to vote. they are costly and

unnecessary. and they disenfranchise voters." the site goes on to say voter fraud is rare. something republicans ridicule. >> we did a quick study. in the last ten years voter fraud conviction in 46 states. >> look in april. committee member of naacp sentenced to five years in jail for voter fraud. >> in rhode island, the photo i.d. approved by the legislature there. mississippi had referendum where 52% of voters approve photo i.d. neither the practice nor the controversy is going away. shannon? >> shannon: jim angle. thank you. last friday president obama signed a new law that may give financial relief to thousands of gulf coast residents. 83,000 letters were mailed out by fema after hurricane katrina to try to recoup improper payment. the new law allows the agency

to waste many of the debt. federal appeals court ruled arkansas cannot cut off funding for desegregation program in little rock area school district without separate hearing and judge's order. it comes months after a federal judge ordered an end to most of the payment saying they are counterproductive. we're inside one week until iowa caucus. we have talk about who looks good and who doesn't. doesn't, when the fox all-stars joins us right after the break. [ male announcer ] with the new year comes resolutions.

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there is going to be an election. a message is going to be sent. there is a lot of status quo from politicians out there. if you dent do anything and we keep the same president, status quo. if you pick another status quo president, presidential candidate, nothing is going to change. >> the good news for me over the last several weeks support for our campaign is growing.

that kind of momentum toward the beginning of the process here is very encouraging. >> shannon: there you are hearing from the two top contenders, according to polling in iowa. bring in the panel. steve hayes, senior writer for "weekly standard." charles lane, editorial writer for "washington post." and syndicated columnist charles krauthammer. welcome. we have a new poll today from cnn/times looking at what is going on in iowa. they put romney at top. 25%. followed close by by ron paul at 22%. a lot of people say that rick santorum is 16%, how big is that for him days out? >> it could be significant. the different in the way the poll is conducted with this poll is they didn't include democrat and independents which would mean that rick santorum and mitt romney would do better because they have stronger support from republican and do less well from democrat and independents who can show up and become republicans that night. having said that, this is big news for rick santorum. there has always been a

question of who will emerge from that bottom three. when i was in iowa, we talked about it here on "special report" several times talking to voters, the number of them who offered rick santorum as someone they identify with and agree with on issues and they like personally and they can support. the number of voters who i talk to, who made the case was tremendous. the one thing holding them back repeatedly is the question of whether or not he can win. is he electable? can he win in iowa and can he go on to win? we could potentially see a santorum surge here if people see this number and if there are other numbers that follow. des moines register poll coming out saturday night that shows santorum actually doing better. in 16%. 15%, maybe higher. will voters say okay, i'm not wasting my vote if i vote for santorum? could you see people rush to santorum to support him? it's a possibility.

>> shannon: he had been there living with his family and children. made it a point to get to all 99 counties. but there is a pressure that say some in the evangelical community that he and bachmann and perry are splitting the vote. pressure on one or more of them to drop out, endorse another to coalesce the power. none of them seem willing to do that. >> it's almost as if they run through every possible alternative to romney until they got to santorum at the end. benefited from the last one to get the proverbial second look. i am skeptical of how much bounce he would carry to new hampshire. he devoted everything to iowa. romney has a powerful situation there. i can't help but acknowledge as we talk about this republicans. presidential politics is the

recent uptick in the favorability rating for incumbent president obama. and the developing good news on the economy, which could change the whole picture. >> shannon: it could. you mention, i believe gallup, the latest had the approval at 48%. specifically 46%. that is a shift for him, charles. >> it is. in iowa it can be explained by anything. the policy in play. explicable by two things. first, ridiculous way that the republicans in the congress where they were given a victory and they kick it away. cutting nothing. it suffered politically. making obama look like a grown-up. the second is the year-long exposure now to a weak republican field.

the fact that santorum is the last standing alternative. thousand how it has gone. trump, bachmann, perry, then cain, newt who is in decline now. ron paul who is on the set but not electable. now santorum. every alternative is going to get a try or looks like it will get a try. because the field is not happy. large part unhappy with the destable and considered ideologically suspect. imagine if you had a race with mitch daniels, and paul ryan and chris christie. jindal and others. a completely different complexion. with some of tem barosing candidates like cain and others along the way, it made the president who is by, by whom he is, presidential.

look better. that explains the reason his numbers are up. he has been a path of conservativeship. republicans in congress and in this race have not actually distinguished themselves. >> shannon: talk about how much power iowa has. even if 120,000 people showed few for caucus, which would be a record, that is 4% of the iowa residents putting their stamp on one person. is that too much power for one state? >> no, it's great. it's fantastic. first, you have to start from the premise to make that argument that midwestern voices are overrepresented of the national political discourse. it strenuously object to that thought. from wisconsin -- i am from the midwest. we have common sense there. nice to have common sense coming from iowa. where we have people, especially if ron paul wins,

complain about the process. you have to remember that ron paul has been in iowa. speaking to issue that iowas told pollsters repeatedly they care most about. he has been there and taken time. advocated and what he is supposed to do. this is what rick santorum has done. it seems as if he is being paid off for that. for those efforts. then in effect, iowa is doing what iowa is doing. nobody suggests that iowa needs to be predictive. iowa doesn't have to choose the winner on republican and democratic side. better in predicting winner on the democratic side. worse on the republican side. what iowa traditional serves to do is win on the field. it's clear that is what iowa will do this time. >> shannon: i think you disagree if iowa is representative. >> it's not representative normally and less representative now because it has lowest unemployment -- >> [ overtalk ] >> iowa is the 12th most representative. >> talk about gold standard. >> academic study from the

university of iowa and missouri showing iowa is the 12th most representative state in the country if you factor in diversity and the economic issues. >> they're from the university of iowa. >> shannon: we will continue this in the commercial, this discussion. that is it for the panel on this topic. next up, we go around the world to talk about what is happening in hot spots in north korea and syria.

♪ ♪ maybe exercising around the strait of hormuz. i think they are trying to ratchet up the impression that they are prepared to do almost anything militarily to protect themselves. in this case as well. they are trying to intimidate the obama administration. and many european countries that don't want to see the

sanctions increase. >> shannon: that is former u.n. ambassadorrion bolton talking about another threat from iran to close the valuable strait of hormuz. let's talk about it with the panel. they are back. steve, chuck, charles. for its part the u.s. navy has had to comment on this saying basically any disruption will not be tolerated. what do we do? >> the united states military has one row in the world. keep open the national waterways. the british has had it for 20 years. for iran to threaten the strait of hormuz, the most important strait on the planet because a quarter of all oil passes through it. is risky on the part of iran. it's doing it because the obama administration on the verge of a serious sanction on iran which will essentially shut down at least gradually

the oil expert. europeans consider boycott. that will hurt the economy. the regime is already weak and worries about that. the united states navy can certainly hand the speedboats of the iranian navy. i think this is a mistake. it will not intimidate the west. saudi arabia said it will increase production 2 million-barrels a day. if the iran is cut off. the rest could be made up by libya, iraq and our strategic petroleum reserve. on that, i don't think there will be a spike of prices in the world. today, the saudi arraignsment the price of oil declined. it's a mistake. key for the united states navy and it could do damage to any military capacity iran has. >> shannon: how seriously should we take the threat? >> just about as seriously as

they are taking it. iran is in a corner here for many reasons that charles said. congress and the obama administration seem to find a way forward on sanctions. the sanctions don't go in effect immediately. the president can waive them in interest of national security. that is part of the bargain. iran looks to bully and bluster their way to not get them imposed. if they want to close the strait of hormuz, that means war. i think a war they would lose. >> shannon: turn to another hot spot, syria. the arab league monitors have gone and tried it appears with limited success for a look at what is going on there. one report questionably saying i don't see anything bad. but part they can turn away from not get to people to assess what is going on. >> of course. this is what is going to happen. this is inevitable. you said in arab league monitors. the big risk is false comfort,

providing precisely these reports. listen, we didn't see anything bad. nothing bad is going on. what they didn't count on, syrians didn't count son the fact that the news was going to continue to trickle up the way it has. through subterranean means and getting out youtube videos and showing what is going on with the police force in syria. the question i think, the policy question that faces the united states and the obama administration yet again as we continue to call for assad to go, what are we prepared to do about it? you need to have a more serious conversation of no-fly zone in syria after what we did in lib yeah. it begs the question why aren't we doing this in syria. >> the head of the arab league is a sud knows. he is a military commander in charge of establish militia to carry out theien side in its own country -- genocide in his own country. he is not exactly a human

rights va advocate. iran is chief sponsor of the regime in syria. so steve indicates this is an arab league delegation that might give cover that assad could use particularly headed by a guy like this. he said i haven't seen anything. if you are a demonstrator, shot arrested or tortureed is not good news. >> shannon: today. they telegaffe we have to let it play out and let them do the mission and then see what happens. >> you have to admit the guy is expert on massacres so he is qualified in that respect. >> shannon: sadly. >> a little ridiculous. the administration remained in the background throughout the process in syria. apparently in the view that any overt measure or support the united states would lend the opposition would somehow

provoke a worse backlash from the government be. serious, this is a civil war now. it is tanks and guns in the street. bitterly divided country along three or four different confessional lines. it's absolutely linked with what is going on with iran because of the umbilical connection between the regime. i think the administration has to look at this wol picture in a broader context and start drawing connection between unrest there. the unrest and conflict we are having with iran. come up with a comprehensive approach to both. >> shannon: quickly, any impression of the funeral today for north korea's departed leader? >> as or wellian as it gets. mass demonstration and expression of grief. they have been predicting instability and collapse of the regime since 1950s. it hasn't happened then. it will happen eventually. no sign whatsoever in the

crack in regime. >> shannon: all right. panel, thank you. stay tuned. up next, have you ever had a really tough day at work and dreamed of going out in style? we will show you somebody with a lot of guts who did just that. next. [ male announcer ] you have plans... moments you're looking forward to... what if they were stolen from you? by alzheimer's. this cruel disease costs americans more than $180 billion a year,

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style? well, one rhode island hotel worker decided to bring along a few friends, actually that he was in a band with to help him stage a dramatic walkout. >> i'm here to tell you that i'm quitting. ♪ >> he was asked about you're not going to get a reference now. he said, i wasn't going to get one anyway. you got to have guts. that's it for special report. no on-line show this evening. i'm shannon bream. good night from washington.